Advisen Ltd.: August 2015

Friday, August 28, 2015

Bank of England Probes Insurers’ Cyber Readiness

The Bank of England recently sent questionnaires to insurers under the regulatory agency’s authority, requesting information on the companies’ specific plans to mitigate cyber risk, as well as the cyber insurance they write.

The Bank asked such questions as “How is consumer Personally Identifiable Information (PII) classified, how long is this data retained, how is it secured, if encrypted once stored then to what standard is it encrypted?” and what type of vulnerability testing insurers do.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Cyber Risk Could Ground Drones Before They Take Off, Lloyd’s Report Suggests

The vulnerability to cyber attacks could threaten the development of the drone industry, according to a new report from Lloyd’s of London, which suggested that insurers must take into account the potential liability associated with drones that could be hacked while underwriting.

Despite the wide potential for positive uses of drones in the fields of agriculture, media, insurance, and more, more attention must be paid to cybersecurity by the manufacturers of drones, as well as the insurance industry as it adds this risk to other more traditional aviation risks, Lloyd’s commented. Much as cyber risk blurs the line for many other lines of business, drone operators face risks arising out of privacy breaches, property damage, and hacking.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Pressure on CISOs Increases Amid Few Resources, Deloitte Says

Chief information security officers (CISOs) face new pressures every day to safeguard data and critical assets against increasing cyber threats as well as new regulatory scrutiny, according to a new report from Deloitte.

As their job requirements multiple, CISOs find that resources and funding to address security problem do not always materialize, Deloitte research indicates. In addition, the firm found that ineffective communication and reporting can stymie proper information security efforts, as can lack of support from other executives.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Cybercriminals in the Crosshairs as Authorities File Charges Against Hackers

In recent weeks, authorities have indicted or charged several individuals allegedly involved in cybercrime, prompting the hope that those responsible for cyber attacks, loss of sensitive personal information, and identity theft can begin to be held accountable for their actions.

In the last two weeks, the Department of Justice and U.S. attorneys in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and the District of Columbia announced the ‘dismantling’ of Darkode, a notorious online cybercrime forum. The forum allowed hackers a password-protected online venue for selling, sharing, buying, and trading stolen information as well as tricks and tools for unauthorized access to computer systems and electronic devices.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Cyber Reinsurance Pool Recommended to Boost UK’s Coverage Options

A new report calls upon the United Kingdom government and cyber insurance marketplace to band together to form a catastrophe reinsurance fund to better combat cyber risk, especially on property damage, third-party liability, and business interruption.

Taking the economy’s reliance on information and communications technology as a given, a new report notes that our cyber world, while vital, is also vulnerable. That vulnerability has been met with improved cybersecurity practices available from a wide range of security firms, as well as a rapidly growing cyber insurance marketplace. However, for the insurance industry to fully address cyber risk, the report, developed by Long Finance and Z/Yen Group and sponsored by APM Group, asserted that a public-private partnership in the form of a catastrophe reinsurance pool would help.

Friday, August 7, 2015

EPLI Takes Stock of New Guidance on Worker Classification

Brokers and lawyers in the EPLI space have been rapidly regrouping around new guidelines issued earlier this month by the US Dept. of Labor that effectively extend employee status to many more workers.

“At the end of the day, the guidelines seem to make it even more clear that the DOL simply expects that most independent contractors are really employees under the definitions of the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Thomas Hams, managing director and national EPLI practice leader at Aon Risk Services Central.